The Unspoken Truth
by Kinsie
Summary: Theodore Nott is about to marry the love of his life, when his life suddenly takes a left hand turn and he runs smack dab into Ginny Weasley.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone out there in reader land! I was listening to Panic! At The Disco earlier and got swept up in inspiration so you'll recognize plot elements from a couple of their songs. This is where the disclaimer comes in: I do not own anything you recognize as P!ATD's or Queen Rowling's. Anywho, I've never written a Ginny/Theo before, so wish me luck and I hope you enjoy it!

The smell of cheap wine and sweat permeated the air while the lurid costumes stood as a lure behind hazy, smoke filled air. Music meant to ensnare the listeners came pounding out of the speakers in every direction as girls clung to poles and danced enticingly as the men fairly panted in anticipation. Theo hated it. He had never liked strip clubs and was less than thrilled that his friends had chosen to hold his stag party here. He had not even wanted to have the party and Blaise knew how much he hated these places, though he suspected it was Draco's planning. His suspicions were confirmed later in the evening after Draco had had a few too many and let slip that he would convert his friend if it was the last thing he did.

Theo was getting married the next morning and this was the last place he wanted to be. Truth be told, he would love to be in bed with Stella celebrating privately. She was being old fashioned about the whole ordeal though and insisted they keep to the old traditions which included not seeing each other before the wedding. Stella had decided that extended for the entire day before, which had proved a bit hassling while trying to arrange the final details of the ceremony, but it was what she had wanted. Everything had come together, so she had known what she was doing. Now though, he had no excuse to bow out early and decided to make his friends think it was a good night.

A few rounds in and Theo knew it had been a bad idea, but he was already this far down the path of idiocy, there was no turning back.

"I knew you'd come around eventually mate," Draco punched him in the shoulder and Blaise shot him a sympathetic glance. Blaise always saw right through his pretenses, though he rarely called him out on them.

"Oh Draco, you have no idea," Theo drawled and Blaise almost choked on his drink, but covered it with a cough.

After seeing Greg and Vince receive lap dances, Theo was fairly certain his evening could not get worse, but that was before Draco ushered a dancer over and paid for Theo to have a stag night lap dance as he called it. The woman was pretty, but in a forced, cosmetic way that Theo found unappealing. To be fair though, he thought most of it was that he did not want anyone but Stella and this woman was the opposite of his fiancé. Stella was tall and serene with long blond hair that she kept in loose curls that swept down to the middle of her back. Her blue eyes were nearly crystalline with their intensity and her lips were always the shade of pink that begged for another kiss. This woman had short raven hair and shocking red lips that Theo knew would leave marks on any glass unfortunate enough to meet them.

"No, really that's alright. Draco, mate, you should take the dance for me," Theo tried to dissuade his friend, but he was not having it. So, Blaise was stuck in a chair with a lapful of woman who was not Stella on the eve before his wedding. The dance seemed to last forever and he could not even put a smile on his face. Luckily Theo's face was covered from sight by the woman's ample chest, so his friends would never know how very uncomfortable he had been.

"I think I should get Theo home now, I'm not going to be on the bad end of Stella's list tomorrow when her groom is still drunk during the wedding," Blaise hauled Theo out of his chair as if the groom-to-be was trashed and needed the help and whispered, "You owe me."

"Aww, the night was just starting!" Draco argued with Greg and Vince backing him up.

"We can always come back again another time, but for now, I'd rather not be cursed," Blaise said before walking Theo out of the establishment.

They were back out onto the street before anything else could be said and any more fuss could be made. The two were not taking any chances though and sped down the street before finding an empty alley they could apparate back to Blaise's flat from. Neither were inebriated as Theo was waiting for his chance to escape all night and Blaise assumed he would have to save his friend before Draco did something overly ridiculous. It was his duty as the best man to save the day and he intended to keep his head on the off chance anything needed to be saved. They landed safely in Blaise's living area not two seconds after they were standing on dirty pavement.

"I hate apparating," Theo poured himself a scotch from Blaise's personal collection and made sure to include one for his best man in the process.

"Yes, we all know," Blaise replied with a chuckle. No one was surprised when Theo was one of the first in their year to achieve apparating, though him throwing up after appearing had caused a stir in the gossip pool for some time.

"Oh let it go! That was years ago and I haven't thrown up after apparating in forever," Theo insisted.

"So last month after the ministry ball was what, a fluke?" Blaise could not help but needle Theo, it had been his source of entertainment for twenty-three years and was unlikely to change any time soon.

"That shouldn't count because I was hammered and Stella wanted to get home without getting dust on her new dress. It was the alcohol and not the apparating that made it happen," Theo would not let Blaise win this argument.

"I still say that you should have gone through the queue for the floo. I even tried warning Stella, but she seemed rather unconcerned," Blaise took a sip of his scotch before putting his feet up on the coffee table in front of their chairs.

"She was very concerned about getting me home and into bed that night as I recall," Theo smirked devilishly at his friend.

"And did she still feel that way after your alcohol induced vomit got all over her shoes?" Blaise asked triumphantly. He knew how this story ended and it was not with a couple kisses and goodnight.

"I still say the couch was my idea that night so that I did not accidentally vomit on her in my sleep," Theo stuck to his story as he had through all the teasing his friends had given him over the past few weeks for it.

"You can say what you will, I heard Stella's side from Arista last week," Blaise's cousin happened to be Stella's best friend which had come in handy at the beginning of Theo's relationship. Having the inside scoop always made things easier.

"So what did Arista have to say?" Theo asked dismissively.

"That Stella did a bit of shrieking before condemning you to the couch and a rather sexless week," Blaise laughed at his friend's discomfort and refilled his glass in lieu of an apology.

"I was holding out on her so she would realize what she was missing out on," Blaise let Theo's rather thin excuse hold and they toasted Theo's coming nuptials until early in the morning when they decided they really should not show up to the ceremony hung over.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** This chapter is what I envisioned while listening to _I Write Sins Not Tragedies_, so I hope you all enjoy it! Also, I promise that Ginny will be making an appearance, she's just running a bit late at the moment. I tried writing her into this chapter and it did not go well, so I promise she'll show up in the next one!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything you recognize as Queen Rowling or P!ATD.

The next morning came with a pounding headache and an angry maid of honor. Arista was storming around the flat lecturing Blaise about their hung over states and at last relenting long enough for Theo to grab two potions from the cabinet for them and whisking Arista into the floo before she could finish. Arista was a good sort, but she could talk longer than almost anyone Theo knew which could get irritating if you were on the receiving end of one of her lectures, which he frequently was.

She led the way out of the floo and into the foyer of the church Stella had picked out for the wedding. It was stunning really with its stained glass windows and vaulted ceiling. The building was older than Theo cared to find out and the architecture was immaculately preserved. Everything was made of grey stone and dark cherry wood that looked as though it was installed yesterday. The pews were being decorated by the florist's people as they walked into the nave. Stella had wanted lilac and silver for the wedding colors with all the bouquets done up with silver ribbons and frilly doodads. Theo could not say he especially liked the way they looked festooned on the cherry pews, but if Stella liked them he would keep his notions to himself.

"If I come back and find the two of you sloshed, Merlin help you," Arista departed to help Stella get ready after delivering her warning. Neither of the two had any plans on drinking more, but if they had, her tone would have posed a serious counter argument to further festivities.

"You know, I think there's an open bar later," Blaise mused, "What do you say to making my cousin eat her words?"

"I think I'll be a bit preoccupied, how about you rope the others into it and I'll talk her down after she sees you lot?" Theo countered.

"Fair enough, let's get you ready to be married, shall we?" Blaise said as he led the way down to a side room that had been set aside for the groom and groomsmen.

The room was a bit small for the three of them, but Draco had not arrived yet and there was plenty of space in the church to roam around. No one cared if people saw the groom before the wedding, it was just the bride that had to take extra care. He was ready in no time as Stella had picked out all the dress robes ages ago. They were all light grey which Blaise said made Theo look a bit peaky, but the groom did not care as long as his bride was happy.

Nearly an hour later, Draco waltzed in acting as though he did not have a care in the world, even that he was late to one of his best mate's wedding. Blaise and Theo rolled their eyes because he probably had the perfect story to go with his lateness and bizarre attire, neither of which interested the two at this hour in the morning. The wedding was set to start at ten in the morning and Arista had woken them five hours in advanced. Why on earth did they need five hours to get ready?

"You two should not have left last night!" Draco broke into his story without an inquiry which he was prone to doing.

"Why is that?" Blaise asked, picking at an imaginary piece of lint on the arm of his robe.

"Because we saw some bint that looked shockingly like Stella in muggle London last night!" Draco continued, "Of course it could not have been her, but we followed her for a laugh and wound up at some guy's flat where they were knocking boots louder than I've ever heard."

Theo's stomach turned unexpectedly and blamed it on the drinking from the night before. Like Draco said, it could not have been Stella. His Stella had spent the night in with Arista the night before and hated going into muggle London. Besides, she was not loud in bed and had always said women that were, were hussies. He did not quite approve of the assessment, but that was enough proof for him that it had not been his bride.

"Really? We should have stayed at a strip club with you guys just to stalk some poor girl back to her apartment and watch her have sex?" Blaise questioned raising a single eyebrow, "Whose idea of fun is that?"

"Well when you put it that way it just sounds creepy, but we were rather sloshed and I had to make sure that it was not Stella, for Theo's sake," Draco explained.

Theo thought that Draco's methods were always a bit lacking, but he could never say that the guy's heart was not in the right place. He cared for very few people, but those he did, he would protect against anything the world threw at them. This had been true since they were little and then on through Hogwarts and then into their adult lives.

"Perhaps you should find a girl to keep you busy mate," Theo suggested.

"And lose my bachelor status? I don't think so," Draco laughed it off and slapped Theo on the back before swapping his mismatched muggle attire to the grey wizard robes for the ceremony.

A few hours later saw Theo pacing outside the nave in one of the side corridors. He knew that Stella was not the woman that Draco had spoken of, but something nagged at his gut that he did not like. He heard a sudden burst of voices from the next hall over and hoped it was her. Theo knew that if he just had a chance to see his bride, these doubts would clear from his mind and nothing would get in the way of their nuptials. He moved forward toward the people talking and as he got closer, their words became more distinguishable.

"Yes, it is quite lovely isn't it?" came a female voice that Theo could almost recognize, but it hovered on the edge of his conscious and he could not quite put his wand on it.

"Oh yes, it's a pity really," came a male voice that Theo did not know.

"Well yes, but that should not get in the way of anything," the woman answered.

"Considering the bride has a piece on the side, I feel that it should get in the way," the male answered before bidding the woman adieu and walking farther down the corridor.

Theo's mind went blank for a second before the denial set it. He knew that it could not be true. Whoever was speaking was just making trouble, everyone always said there was that one person at a wedding who felt they had to ruin other's happiness because they were so unhappy. He just wished he knew who she was so that he could give her a piece of his mind. This being so, he moved forward quickly, hoping to catch her before anyone else appeared. His stride lengthened and he rounded the corner just as Riley, Stella's cousin and bride's maid reached it.

Her face turned pale, but she tried to cover her treason with small talk, "How are you Theodore? I hope you aren't getting any pre-wedding jitters."

"Riley, I need you to answer me truthfully," Theo opened, remaining icily calm even though his insides were a maelstrom.

"Yes," she answered pretending to be calm and not pulling it off as well as Theo.

"Why would you make up such atrocious lies about your cousin? Why would you spread rumors like that around on the morning of her wedding where anyone could hear you?" Theo asked in mild tone.

"Theo, I don't know what you're talking about and I don't like what you're insinuating. You know I hate games like that," Riley had one thing right, Theo knew her and he knew that she did not play mind games. That being said, did that make her words true or did that just mean that he had misjudged her? Either way, it spelled problems for him.

"Riley, did you just say that Stella had someone on the side to the man that was in the hall with you?" Theo decided a direct approach was all that was left.

"Theo, you worry too much, why would Stella want anyone else?" Riley tried to soothe him, but Theo could smell a redirect a mile away after living with his mother for seventeen years.

"Riley, it was a yes or no question," Theo was in no way messing around and Riley knew it from the look on his face.

"Yes, I did, but if you tell Stella I will deny it until my last breath," Riley stood up straight and looked him in the eye.

"Is it true?" Theo did not even blink while asking, though he could already feel his heart being torn apart as her face changed from hostile to pitying.

"I don't play mind games Theo, you know that," she said before walking away.

Theo stood there for a few minutes, frozen by the hurt that seemed to radiate out of his chest and into his limbs. He could not wrap his mind around it, but then salvation seemed to come around the corner in the form of Arista. She was with Stella last night and she was her best friend. Arista would tell him that it was all a lie and that Riley was just messing with him for her own amusement. He could deal with that within moments and move forward with his happy day.

"Theo, are you okay?" Arista asked in concern. He had the strangest look on his face.

"What did you and Stella do last night?" Theo rushed toward her and grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

"What do you mean?" Arista was confused and could not think of a reason for Theo to be acting so strangely.

"Yesterday night the two of you had a girl's night, were you together all night?" Theo asked again hurriedly. The confusion on Arista's face was doing nothing to soothe his heart, but the glimmer of hope still urged him on.

"Theo, yesterday Stella told me she was going to sneak over to Blaise's flat and steal you away from the stag party. She said she could not go through with spending the night before the wedding without you," Arista was baffled at Theo's questions and starting to wonder what was going on with him.

"She never came," Theo's hope extinguished and with it, his whole world seemed to crumble.

"What do you imagine she could have done? Draco told me about how he dragged you lot to a strip club, in all likelihood, she found the flat empty and decided to go home and get some rest before the wedding," Arista could not imagine anything else being the case, but decided to get to the bottom of things before Theo collapsed, which he looked close to doing. The poor man was looking a bit strung out and if he was in less than pristine condition, Stella would get herself into a tizzy.

"I heard Riley talking to someone and she said that Stella had someone on the side. Plus Draco followed someone last night that he said looked exactly like Stella and she went into muggle London and had uproariously loud sex with a man in a flat there. I was at Blaise's because we escaped the stag night early," Theo explained all that he had heard in the past few hours and Arista was even more puzzled. There had to be another explanation, but she could not think of one plausible enough for the situation.

"Have you spoken to Stella?" she was the only one that could possibly clear this mess up and Arista thought that Riley needed a stern talking to.

"I was looking for her when I heard Riley," Theo explained.

"Come on then, let's go find your blushing bride," Arista said as she tugged Theo along behind her. The room where the girls were getting ready was just around the corner and Arista wanted this done before anything else could happen to ruin the wedding.

"Arista, I thought you said you were-" Stella stopped when she saw Theo enter the room as well, "Theo! What are you doing here? I thought we decided not to see each other before the wedding?"

"Where were you last night?" Theo asked, staring into her eyes. Stella never could lie to him, perhaps he had just been asking the wrong questions all along. He had always prided himself on knowing when people were being truthful, but it seemed that his special skill had failed him.

"I was with the girls yesterday and then I went for a walk to clear my head," Stella answered, "What is this all about?"

Theo was disappointed in her, "You bit the side of your cheek Stella," he said.

"So what?" she questioned, though she knew exactly what he meant.

"You always do that when you lie," he said, "Were you in muggle London yesterday night?"

"Were you following me?" Stella accused him, her eyes flashing.

"Were you cheating on me?" Theo asked calmly. There would be time to fall into a bottle of scotch later, but for now, he would remain collected and present the best possible front.

"Why would you even ask that?" Stella's voice was starting to raise and Theo knew his answer.

"Perhaps you should ask your confidante Riley," Theo answered. Stella shot her cousin a glare that could cut glass, but Riley just put up an affronted face and denied any involvement.

"Can you just tell me the truth?" Theo asked. He needed to hear her say it.

"I was with someone else last night," she bit out angrily.

"Was it a one night stand or do you know him?" he asked.

"We've been seeing each other for a few months," she elaborated, twirling her hands in the skirt of her white dress.

"I hope you two will be very happy together," Theo dismissed her and turned toward the door.

Before he could leave, he heard a loud _smack_ as Arista slapped Stella across the face and came after him. The pair walked out of the room and went to gather Blaise and Draco. The wedding was slated to start in minutes and the nave was filled with family and friends of both sides, so Arista took a detour and went up to the front of the room.

"Hello everyone," she started and wondered how best to phrase this, "Thank you all for coming on this auspicious day. I am afraid that you all put on your fancy wear for no reason as the wedding has been cancelled. The groom thought it best to not share his bride with another man and has called it off. If any of you would like to argue this, I'm kindly asking you to bugger off."

The crowd was in a baffled uproar and Arista made a quick get away with Theo before any parents could swoop in. They stopped by the groomsmen room and filled them in before they all apparated to Blaise's flat once again.

"I'm so sorry mate, I never thought it was actually her, we just thought it was a good laugh," Draco apologized again for the stalking of the night before and was waived off by Theo.

"I think I just need a drink," he said and poured himself a tall one.

"Did you really tell everyone that they could bugger off?" Blaise questioned his usually straight laced cousin.

"Well, yes I suppose I did," Arista responded.

"I would have paid to see that," Draco told her quite seriously.

"Don't we know it," Arista joked.

The four sat quietly for a few hours before Draco asked a question only he could think of at a time like this, "Theo, do you want to go to a bar?"

"Of course he doesn't want to go to a bar! Look at the poor guy!" Arista smacked Draco across the back of the head.

"Actually, yes, let's go to a bar," Theo stood up and grabbed his jacket.

"Are we really doing this?" Arista looked at Blaise baffled.

"Would you just want to sit around and mope in your friend's flat after something like that?" Blaise questioned her.

"Well no, I suppose not," she responded before they walked down the street to the bar at the corner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Ginny has finally arrived! Also, just so everyone knows, some character deaths in the book will be ignored for the purposes of this story. Thank you everyone that has followed and reviewed this story!

**Disclaimer:** Who would be silly enough to think I'd have any claim to this? Everything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling in all her splendor. (Also, for now there will be no more P!ATD)

Over the next week, Theo spent more time at that bar than at his own flat. In his defense, it was because every time he tried spending time at home, Stella or Riley would show up to pack away another box or two to move out. He could not stand to be in the same place as them, so he walked around the corner to the bar. The bartender, Arnold, already knew him of course, but they became quite good friends with all the time he was spending there. Exactly a week from the day of the cancelled wedding, he was sitting at the bar talking to Arnold when someone plopped down in the seat next to him.

"Can I get a scotch, Arnold?" the woman asked with a smile.

"Anything for you Gin," he replied and supplied her with a drink.

Theo glanced over and found the woman to be of slight build with long red tresses and chocolate eyes. Her smile is what got him though, it was as though there was some big joke and only she was in on it. Smiles like that were rare in his experience and if someone could laugh at the world around them, they may just be worth knowing. He knew exactly who she was of course after seeing her on the cover of magazines for years. Ginny Weasley was the star chaser for the Holyhead Harpies.

"Oh, Gin, this is Theo. Theo, this is Ginny," Arnold introduced them properly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Theo," Ginny inclined her head taking in the man next to her. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes that were just a bit more green than brown.

"Likewise," Theo nodded to her and wondered if she knew who he was. They had been at Hogwarts together, but he was a year older than her and they had been in rival houses. His name was not unknown to the press however, so she might. Her choice of drink was identical to his, so he inquired, "Scotch?"  
>"It's my favorite," Ginny responded taking a slow sip of her drink and kept eye contact over the brim of her glass.<p>

The evening progressed slowly with the two of them stepping around each other carefully, discussing things like fine scotches and different breweries that caught their fancy. Finally, Theo revealed that he owned Ginny's favorite brewery and the caution they were using about their identities was swept away. Theo asked Ginny about quidditch and she questioned him on life in the business world and finally, the question arose.

"So, I have friends at the Prophet, but I do know that not everything there is to be taken at face value. Is it true you called off your wedding minutes before it was supposed to start?" Ginny had been wondering since she sat down what the answer would be.

"Sadly, the Prophet has it right, though I'm not sure who gave them the story," Theo mused. There were many disgruntled guests at the wedding and it could have reasonably been any of them.

"I believe you have the bride to thank for that slip up," Ginny said, "Luna refused to run the story in the Quibbler because she said it was trashy to air someone's private life in a magazine. So at least it won't be in every single tabloid.

"You know, that is actually comforting, though I can't seem to think of how. I thought she loved me and then all the sudden it came out that she had been seeing a muggle man for months during our engagement and had never broken it off. While I was at my stag party, she was with him. I thought marriage was meant to be more than a way to get money or status or whatever it was that Stella was after, but apparently I was wrong," Theo could not stop the words from pouring out of him. He was hurt and unsurprised that Stella had sold the story about their breakup to the paper. No doubt every story showed her as the broken hearted beauty who only wanted to be married to the love of her life. That must have been what his lawyer had been calling about in the past few days. He had gotten around to returning their office's calls. No doubt they wanted to force the paper to print an extraction with an accompanying apology.

"No, you are completely right. Marriage is about love and respect and so many other things that have nothing to do with power and wealth," Ginny assured her new friend. He seemed so sad that she could feel her heart starting to ache for him a little. No one deserved to be that miserable.

"I will believe that when I see it," Theo answered.

"I will hold you to that, Theo," Ginny returned. It was now her personal goal to cheer him up and make him forget about the horrid woman who broke his heart.

"What is the funniest thing someone said to you this week? And do not spout off something that's ironically funny because she said it," Ginny prefaced because she was certain Theo would find a way to twist it back around.

"Last week at the bar, Draco turned to me and said, 'If you aren't going to send the wedding gifts back, may I keep the wine rack?' Looking back it was not even that funny, but I could not stop the loud guffawing noise that was issuing from my mouth," Theo responded.

"I think you were in shock," Ginny rarely sugar coated things and this was no exception.

"Arnold, I think we're going to need another round over here," Theo put a couple more galleons on the countertop and shook his head, "Also, it does not matter if I was in shock, it was hilarious at the time, and therefore, it was the funniest thing I'd heard all week."

"Fine, but I think you should find something entertaining to do to get your mind off things rather than sit in a bar every night," Ginny responded. Theo explained that he could not stay at his house in the evenings because Stella and Riley would pop in without warning and Ginny began to think of a plan.

"Does she still think she can win you back and that's why she's always showing up or is she a very petty kind of person?" Ginny asked him.

"I would not have dreamed to call her petty before last Saturday, but now I think that might be it," Theo said morosely.

"Alright, we're going to stage a sit it in your flat tomorrow night. Get all of your friends that know what happened and I'll bring a few people and when she turns up we'll all just stare at her until she grabs her things and leaves," at the time, Ginny thought this was brilliant, but that could have to do more with the fact that she was four rounds in.

"Alright, she usually shows up in the evening hours, but never before seven thirty," Theo was willing to try anything to get her to leave permanently.

"I have practice in the morning, but I'll bring some people around, let's say seven?" Ginny started to rise from her barstool when Theo's fingertips settled lightly on top of her hand.

"Do you have to go?" Theo's brain was a bit foggy and the redhead that had kept him company was standing there looking lovelier than she had any right to at midnight.  
>"Yes I do," Ginny smiled at him, hoping that he was not going to ask her anything inappropriate.<p>

"My place is closer, you could always stay there for the night and leave in the morning," Theo suggested.

"I will not be your rebound Theodore, but I will be your friend," Ginny said before heading toward the door. She turned before exiting and threw him a smile and a wave and then left the building intent on her own bed for a nice night's rest.

Ginny woke up the next morning tangled in her blue comforter and her hair trying its best to strangle her. The alarm she had set was not doing her any favors by being just out of reach and she nearly toppled out of bed trying to reach it. Her fingers were stretching toward the other edge of her night stand and she accidentally hit the picture frame that held the photo from her birthday the year before picturing herself, Hermione, and Luna in front of the Diagon Alley Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes shop with Fred and George. The frame toppled off the stand and hit the ground before her sleep addled mind could catch it and Ginny resigned herself to fixing the glass for the third time this month. Clearly she needed to find a better place for it.

Ginny got ready for practice by pulling a brush through her hair and grabbing a slice of toast from the breakfast plate Luna was making. She slid shoes on her feet and left the flat saying goodbye to her friend and flat mate. Ginny apparated just outside her door and landed right in the foyer of the training compound. The special wards on the building let anyone with clearance land within the complex while reporters and fans were allocated to the landing zones outside the walls. Her team was already in the changing rooms when she rushed in and made it to her locker.

"Rough morning?" Adela asked.

"More like a rough night," Wendy laughed a bit at their friend.

"Both?" Ginny replied weakly.

They got out onto the pitch and the warm up exercises brought Ginny back to the realm of the living by easing the stress from a rushed morning and waking her up fully from the fog of too many drinks the night before. She never got hung over in the true sense of the word, but the morning after too many she knew it.

The team grouped up after warm ups and started working on different player formations for the chasers and beaters while their seeker, Adela, was practicing her Wronski feints. Ginny's fellow chasers, Wendy and Chaz, were looping up and around each other, trying to confuse the opponents while the beaters flanked their little whirlwind on the lookout for bludgers. Truly there was not another team on the pitch, but as their coach was often fond of saying, 'If you don't do it like a real game now, you won't do it right in a real game!'

They practiced for a few hours before hitting the workout room where Ginny's preferred method of exercise was yoga. There was not a yogi to lead, so the teammates took turns leading the sessions every third practice. The other days they had endurance training and weights. Ginny let herself go during their practice, letting her limbs do the thinking while she felt blissfully calm.

After their two hours of yoga, the girls all showered and then went to lunch together at the café just down the street from the compound. They did not all go out together often because whenever they tried, they wound up being mobbed by photographers which was not always ideal. This lunch time tradition however was always safe because the owners of the Vernal Café were understanding of their plight and had rules about cameras and harassment in place. The paparazzi had tried a few times and found themselves ousted from the building as well as the hundred feet around the building.

"So, why were you so tired this morning?" Chaz asked.

"I thought you were doing dinner with your parents last night?" Hadley added.

"I was at my parents and decided a drink was in order before I got home, so I went to Arnold's bar for a pick me up," Ginny responded.

"Were they on you about Greg?" Ellie asked sympathetically. Ginny had been dating a wizard named Greg for months when she woke up one morning and decided that there had to be more than the mundane normality that accompanied dating him. She did not want to be complacent with anything, so she told him that she could not see him anymore and moved in with Luna that evening. Her parents had been baffled and Molly never failed to bring it up somehow during their family dinners.

"It was just mum a couple of times, but the twins helped deflect the attention," Ginny shrugged. There had definitely been worse dinners, so she was not too concerned about that.

"Okay, if you were at the bar for a drink, why did you stay so long?" Adela asked.

"I wound up meeting Theodore Nott and we had drinks together before I went home," Ginny explained. Her friends' faces were a variety of expressions, though most leaned toward a more licentious manner and Ginny had to defend her actions, "Not like that!"

"Oh sure," Hadley teased.

"Don't worry Gin, I believe you," Wendy said with a wink that clearly stated that she did not.

"Guys, leave her alone," Ellie was the newest teammate and the others were trying to corrupt her with little success. At this moment in time, Ginny was glad for it.

"There was nothing romantic! We were talking about scotch for a while and then his recent failed nuptials and, oh what are you guys doing tonight?" Ginny explained the Stella situation and asked them to help later tonight. Adela, Ellie, and Chaz wound up being able to come, which was a bit surprising. Ginny had just assumed that they would all be busy, but the more the merrier she supposed. She was going to ask Hermione and Luna later in the afternoon when she met them at the flat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: I am so sorry this chapter took so long! Work has been crazy for the last couple of weeks but it's a bit more normal now and hopefully the next chapter will be coming out soon! I hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am!

**Disclaimer**: I do not, nor will I ever, have any claim whatsoever to the world of Harry Potter which belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.

"Gin, this is not your best plan," Hermione pointed out as she grabbed a small handful of floo powder.

"I know, but it might be funny?" she offered halfheartedly before telling her friend the address that Theo had owled her earlier.

"I'm sure it will be a good laugh Ginny," Luna assured her before stepping into the green flames.

Ginny was not as sure as Luna, but at that point there really was no going back, so she tossed a pinch of floo powder into the grate and was whirled away to the home of one, Theodore Nott.

Theo was pacing around his flat half hoping that Stella did not even show up this evening, though he knew it would be too good to be true. Arista was reclining with Draco and Blaise on the couch talking about Theo's new penchant for red heads when the fire turned green. Theo shot them a look just before a familiar face popped out of the fireplace. Granger looked good, but then, she really always had.

"Hello Nott, Ginny will be right through, she was just setting the wards on her apartment before leaving," Hermione greeted her one time scholarly rival.

"Please, have a seat, it was good of you to come," Theo had received the list of people coming from Ginny earlier, so was not all too surprised that she had not been the first to arrive.

Luna and Ginny arrived in quick succession after Hermione and Ginny explained that her quidditch friends were held up at a publicity stunt at some new restaurant or another, but that they would be there.

"So I hear you got old Teddy to loosen up last night Weasley, good job," Draco stood and dusted his spotless pants while shooting Ginny a lewd grin.

"Pay no mind to Draco, he came untrained and seems resistant to our efforts" Arista pushed up off the couch and greeted the three girls warmly. She had been sent to an American school instead of Hogwarts because her mother was an alumni, so she had not ever met the three women currently in Theo's flat, but had heard a great deal about them.

"Oh we know," Hermione quipped, hoping it had not come out too snarky. Luckily the others simply laughed and she was a bit relieved.

The oddly assorted group settled in together on couches that appeared far too small, but held them all and would easily contain the new arrivals. Hermione and Blaise had struck up a conversation while Draco threw in jokes every now and again and Luna and Arista watched the scene play out while exchanging amused glances every once in a while. Theo and Ginny had gone into the kitchen to finish up the food Theo had thought to whip up, though they were doing more talking than cooking.

"Gin, I meant to apologize for last night," Theo was pulling glasses down from the cupboard by hand which Ginny found interesting. She had thought that anyone who had grown up with magic would just conjure what they needed.

"Theo, you were drunk, just forget it," Ginny did not want to dredge up what had happened the night before.

"So are we still okay? You aren't going to run out the door after this is over and wash your hands of me?" Theo tried for a lighter tone.

"Theodore, we are just fine. However, if you don't help me bring out these plates I'll throw you from the balcony," Ginny returned with a grin.

"I'd best get these out to the other then," Theo snagged the tray from her and brought it out to the sitting area while Ginny searched for a wine key in the drawers. She could hear the steady thrum of voices from the next room and was glad that things had not blown up in their faces yet. All the sudden it got quiet and she peaked her head around the corner to see what was happening. All the eyes in the room were trained on the front door and Ginny held tighter to the bottle opener she had found in the last drawer next to the sink. She watched Arista stalk toward the entry, but before she could get there, the door was thrown open by none other than Pansy Parkinson. What was strange was that Ginny recognized her fellow quidditch players as her companions.

"Pans, how good of you to come," Blaise drawled.

"Well, I simply could not resist after hearing that the lovely Miss Ellie was going to be in attendance," Pansy winked and Ginny's teammate blushed a rather bright shade of fuchsia.

"Now, now Pansy," Chaz wagged her finger at the black haired witch, "No more teasing Ellie. The poor dear just can't take any more."

Ginny's eyes had grown wider and wider throughout the exchange and was relieved to see that at least the other Slytherins were not phased at all by the circus at the door. Ellie rushed away from the others to give Ginny a hug and whisper in her ear, "Make them stop and I'll owe you forever." This made Ginny laugh and she redirected the conversation to what they were all doing together. As it turns out, everyone had been at the opening of a new restaurant in Diagon Alley and discovered that they were all heading to Theo's flat after. Eventually, the group settled in around the fireplace and popped open the first bottle of wine while they waited for the inevitable arrival of Theo's ex-love.

Nearly an hour of drinks and laughter later, a knock came at the door that no one rose to get immediately. Arista rose a few beats later to answer with an angry set to her shoulders and her chin jutting out.

"You need to leave," Arista said. The other voice was muffled, so no one was sure what exactly was said, though it made Ginny itch to have a set of extendable ears.

"Because you aren't wanted here," Arista said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Theodore, she isn't going to leave," Arista called inside.

"Stella, come get whatever it is you've left behind this time," Theo responded in a very tired voice.

Arista opened the door revealing the sitting room filled with people that were all glaring at Stella rather maliciously. The blonde witch looked hesitant at coming into the flat, but somehow got back her resolve and stepped through the entryway.

"Theo, I was hoping to have a word," she ignored everyone else and focused on the man sitting between Blaise and Ginny.

"Sorry, I'm clearly busy and I would like to enjoy my evening without you and the cloud of disreputable lies," Theo did not even stand to address her and promptly turned to engage Ginny in a conversation about her latest quidditch game. Stella was left standing awkwardly at the door looking a little off balance. She eventually scampered off to some corner of the flat where she packed away her things. When she reemerged a short time later, Theo called out to her, "I expect you to get the rest of your things out of here by tomorrow afternoon and I have no desire to see you anymore. The wards will be set against you for the whole floor of the building after three." Stella did not respond, but the loud manner in which she shut the door seemed to show her feelings on the matter.

"So do you feel better now?" Ginny asked him.

"A bit relieved and a bit empty," Theo responded honestly.

"It gets better, I promise," Ginny gave him a hug while Arista and Hermione exchanged conspiratorial grins.

The evening lasted longer than anyone had expected and soon they were setting up a get together for the following week at Pansy's place. Over time these get-togethers expanded both in number of attendees and frequency with more of Ginny's teammates joining them as well as more of Theo and Blaise's acquaintances.

Ginny found that the more time she spent with her new friends, the more things in her life became a bit more complicated. This was not to say that she did not enjoy it, but things were definitely different. She talked to Theo nearly every day and while part of her still wanted to be that girl in a bar with him, she never said anything aloud that would clue him into how she felt. Months passed and their friendship grew stronger making Ginny glad that she had kept her thoughts to herself rather than strain the wonderful relationship she had with him now.

"Theo, I'm not sure if I'm amused by this or if I'm greatly annoyed by the lack of privacy my life has taken on with you around," Ginny was eating lunch with Theo and had picked up a copy of the Prophet from a newsstand in front of the Vernal Café. Plastered on the front page of the entertainment section was a photo from the night before. Ginny and Theo had gone to dinner together and clearly the Prophet had taken a different approach on what was happening than they had. The two in the photo were smiling at each other while Theo pulled out her chair. Theo thought they looked like a rather handsome couple, though he would never say as much to the red head sitting across from him.

"I'm going to go with amused because you are an international quidditch player; you have no privacy anyways," Theo pointed out before taking a bite out of his scone to keep from jibing her further.

"I suppose, but if my mother gets ahold of this, I'm going to be roasted," she pointed out.

"But then she would not have anyone left to nitpick," Theo argued.

"Hmm, maybe she's par bake me first then," she agreed and picked the muffin up off her plate.

After breakfast, the pair separated with promises to meet up for a nightcap after Ginny's weekly dinner at the Burrow. She had tried to get him to accompany her, but Theo always refused on the grounds that the world could never move on if they were both put on Molly's spit. As it turns out, Theo had the right of it that morning. As soon as Ginny stepped into the Burrow, she knew something was up because her mother was acting too nice. By the time dinner arrived, Ginny was on the edge of her seat hoping that whatever it was she had done would be revealed to her. Going home made her feel like a kid again, but this time she did not have any of her siblings to back her up. For some reason none of them had been invited to dinner that night which had only served to make Ginny more anxious.

"Ginny dear, won't you pass the parsnips?" Molly asked.

"Mum, just tell me what it is you asked me over here for," Ginny said as she handed the vegetable laden bowl to her mother. She had a feeling this had to do with the Prophet article and she was less than pleased at being treated like a misbehaving child.

"Oh I just wanted to give you an opportunity to tell your father and I about your new boyfriend, but I suppose you must have other things on your mind," her mother had always been exceptionally gifted at guilt tripping her children, but this time, Ginny knew that her mother was not in the right of it and felt herself getting angry.

"I'm sure if I was dating anyone I would have let you know. I do think it's funny though that everyone seems to be believing this drivel that the prophet is trotting out these days. Theo and I were having a good laugh about it this morning. I did think that you would have more faith in me than that," Ginny's tone remained light and thoughtless, but insides she was seething.

"Now Ginny, don't you take that tone with me," Molly was using her best mum voice, but Ginny was too hurt to care.

"If you don't mind, I'm late to meet my friends, so goodnight," Ginny rose, gave her father a kiss on the cheek and swept out of the Burrow with her head held high filled with righteous anger. Her mother always assumed she could not take care of herself and it was disheartening to think that her mum thought that she would keep such big secrets from her family.

Theodore expected Ginny to arrive in a tizzy as she usually did after spending time with her mother, though he had not expected her so early. He had not even gotten a chance to pull out the vintage scotch he had picked up as a treat for her when there was a knock on the door of his flat. When he answered she looked up at him with her hair out of place and an angry flush spreading across her face. He knew it had not gone well and was unsurprised by the flood of indignation that came out of her mouth. Ginny was not exactly the most serene person, but luckily, only her family could push her buttons like this.

The evening mirrored that of their first meeting of drinks and friendly conversation until they were both slightly inebriated and Ginny's thoughts had turned completely away from the disastrous dinner with her mother. Theo was very aware of where his body ended and hers began, as they were sitting very close together on the couch. He was also very aware that if he closed the gap, there was a real possibility of him kissing Ginny Weasley and her inevitable reaction of never speaking to him again. Theo had to sit on his hands to resist reaching out to play with her hair and found his resolve growing weaker when there was a knock at the door.

When he opened the door, he half expected it to be Ginny's mother demanding that her daughter be returned to her custody for safekeeping, though that was probably just the excess of fine scotch in his system. He was pleasantly surprised therefore to see Pansy and Blaise with Hermione and Ellie in tow. They all crowded into the flat and it was clear they had already been drinking. Before long, the girls were all dancing around the sitting area and Pansy had cranked the music on Theo's radio set. Their shoes were scattered around the edges of the makeshift dance floor and the two men watched, mesmerized by the combination of insanity and beauty that was encompassed by their ridiculous friends. They spent the remainder of the night and the rest of Theo's alcohol while they intermittently danced and lay exhausted on the couches in turns.


End file.
